Bon Jovi - Who Says You Can't Go Home?

When Jerry Lee Lewis career began to dip terribly after the scandal broke regarding him marrying his 13 year old cousin, he was advised to shift the style of music he was playing from rock and roll to country. Country was seen as a more "mature" and "respectable" genre at the time, and so the move was one meant to save his career. He did pen some songs that became country hits ("She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye", "Once More With Feeling", etc.) but obviously his earlier, rock and roll hits ("Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On") will be the ones he will always be remembered for.

Since then, many artists whose careers have taken a shit have turned to country to continue earning a paycheck. Jessica Simpson, Jewel Kilcher, and Darius "Hootie" Rucker, are three that come immediately to mind. They've each done stupid things (in the case of Jessica Simpson, several stupid things) that have turned the general public against them, and so they have taken the walk of shame, tails between their legs, to the realm of Contemporary Pop Country, usually with some token public statement about "always loving country music" or "growing up in the country".

So, is it really surprising that Bon Jovi should start recording country music? Of course not!



Let's face it. Jon Francis Bongiovi, Jr.'s audience consists largely of women approaching middle age that fell in love with his luscious locks back in the 1980's. This same demographic is the type of people who keep Keith Urban working, today. (Hint: they're not paying attention to his career because of his "awesome" music, if you know what I mean.) These types likely were disillusioned by the turn rock music took in the early '90's, when the Bon Jovi's and Warrant's of the world suddenly were replaced by mopey, angst-ridden, flannel-wearing misanthropes. Luckily Garth Brooks, et. al. were there to scoop up that lost demographic and give them a new home: Contemporary Pop Country.

Much of the music that is played on CPC stations these days actually shares a lot of characteristics with hair rock of the '80's: Obnoxiously catchy sing-a-long anthems, painfully maudlin power ballads, and a complete lack of artistic integrity.

"Who Says You Can't Go Home?" was the first cross over hit for Bon Jovi, and the success of that single paved the way for the album Lost Highway which fully embraced that shift, securing them a place amongst other shamed pop stars.

Is CPC a good home for Bon Jovi? Oh, assuredly. It's just unfortunate for me, because now if I'm sitting in the office at work, I get Bon Jovi on the local country station. If I walk around the plant, I get Bon Jovi on the local redneck rock station. Either way I lose!

Oh, by the way Jon, it was Thomas Wolfe.